Tonsai is a polarizing place among vagabond climbers. Characterizations of this mythical climbing destination range wildly. The poshest among us insist that it is no more than a sloppy cesspool of dirty backpackers, buzzing with dengue carrying mosquitos, hosting an out-of-control cat population, and limestone that is so polished that you might as well bring crampons rather than climbing shoes.

The dirt baggers retort by waxing poetic about a climbing paradise: a secluded beach on crystal clear water overlooking the Andaman sea, completely walled off from civilization by towering orange and grey swaths of limestone weathered by the sea and wind, streaked with tufas and stalactites.

To me, the greatness of climbing trips is based on a casserole of abstract criteria: rock quality, natural beauty, weather, food, cultural experiences, and climbing performance are all part of the equation, but the company absolutely carries the most weight, and I don’t think it’s ever been better than our Rocklands trip. If it had rained every single day, Me, Katie, David, Nicole, Ty, Beans, & Jeremy would have had almost as much fun hanging out in our cottages, talking in foreign accents, trading stories, drinking Stoney, and catching up on life. Fortunately, the weather was idyllic, and we got to do all of the above while trading burns on the world’s best boulders.

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In our three plus years living in Myanmar we’ve had opportunities to travel to most of the climbing bubbles in the South/East Asia region. We’ve ticked Green Climber’s Home in Laos, Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island in Vietnam, Tung Lung in Hong Kong, a crag or two in South Korea, a few zones in Myanmar, and I’ve been to Chiang Mai twice and Tonsai in Thailand 6 times. The only major climbing hub remaining in this corner of the world was the karst jungle of Yangshuo, China. The ominous sounding visa process was the main culprit of our China procrastination, and it turned out to be much worse than we had anticipated, Continue reading →

A week of spectacular climbing in Bulgaria. David came out for an off-the-beaten-track brother adventure, and Bulgaria blew away our expectations; it is stunning.
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Earlier this year Katie and I travelled to Greece for some climbing and culture. We were welcomed by our gracious host, enlightened guide, and zealot of all things Greek, Dimitris. Dimitris was our oracle, enlightening us by explaining how extra virgin olive oil was different, how the ancient Athenians were the most YOLO people of all time, and how Cretians essentially won WWII for the allies by losing the Battle of Crete to the Germans. For the following three weeks, tidbits of Dimitris knowledge would float through our heads as we explored the Aegean. After staying with Dimitris for a day in Athens, we travelled to the island of Santorini.

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Summer is here in Myanmar, and summer means Thingyan (the Myanmar new year), and Thingyan means it’s time to go on our second annual 10 day sport climbing trip. Thailand has traditionally been the destination for sport climbing in SE Asia, but the karst wonderland of Thakhek in neighboring Laos is the up and coming new crag on the block. As devout Thingyan climbing pilgrims, Katie and I decided it was time to cut our teeth on Southeast Asia’s newest rock mecca. Continue reading →